Federal stimulus funds to cover mental health budget cuts

Federal stimulus dollars will fund services for the mentally disabled threatened by budget cuts, state officials said Wednesday.

A request from Department of Human Services Commissioner Charles Krogmeier for $1.4 million from a “risk pool” was approved Tuesday night by Dick Oshlo, head of the state's Department of Management. The shift will cover most of a $2.26 million cut in the payment program for services for mental health and the developmentally disabled.

The cuts, part of Gov. Chet Culver's 10 percent across-the-board spending reduction, would have ended services to about 1,200 of 4,200 people statewide. That included 100 to 200 people in Linn County and 35 to 50 in Johnson County.

“That's good news,” said Craig Wood, Linn County's director of mental health services.

Still undetermined is whether the money will be used to reduce the number of clients facing service cuts or to push back the Feb. 1 deadline for the reductions, giving the state Legislature time to come up with money to head them off altogether.

Wood said he'd prefer the latter.

“I think we'd have a good chance in the Legislature,” he said. “The legislators I've talked to have certainly been supportive of looking for funds to transfer” to cover the service reductions.

The money is being shifted from a $10 million pool of stimulus funds allocated to help counties provide mental health services during the economic recession. Some funds remained in the pool after counties' requests had been filled, allowing the transfer, according to DHS spokesman Roger Munns.